Inferno: Oil tanker catches fire at fuel station

HYDERABAD: An oil tanker caught fire while offloading fuel at a fuel station on Auto Bahn Road in Hyderabad late Wednesday night. However, a major disaster was averted as the tanker driver quickly accelerated and drove the vehicle over 100 feet away from the petrol pump.

The driver’s actions may have saved the fuel station but caused the tanker, two motorcycles and as many rickshaws to catch fire. The exterior walls of three houses were also partially damaged in the blaze.

According to the Hussainabad police, the fire broke out from an electricity generator at the station. The power connection to the fuel station was reportedly severed by the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company two days prior to the incident.

A similar incident happened in May this year at a fuel station near Liberty Chowk, adjacent to Civil Hospital, Hyderabad. Four persons were injured and 17 vehicles, including 10 cars, were gutted in the subsequent blaze.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2016.